Stuff of Legend
by wenjing10
Summary: This is an alternate version of "Stuff of Legend", which is connected to My Life in Slugterra Eastern Caverns version. So beware of spoilers!
1. Chapter 1

My friend FoxyKhai0209 is excited to write a story about the Pyritor and his relationship with Junjie's twins, Jie and Jia. I also have been thinking about it and decide to write it, especially about the Pyritor's history. Though, it should be connected to My Life in Slugterra Eastern Caverns version.

Anyway, enjoy.

UPDATE: FoxyKhai0209 suggested the story to be split into chapters.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

We traveled to the southern region of The Eastern Caverns. We reached the Auroris Mines, a set of mining caverns in The Eastern Caverns. Trixie was holding her tablet and the twins, Jie and Jia were with her. Trixie used the Eastern Data Stream or the Eastern Net to search for information. It was similar to the Slugnet in The 99 Caverns. Meanwhile, Eli and Junjie were doing Slug Fu while the rest of us took a short break. Some of us had some food and drink.

"You know, Junjie, with all that's happened I never got to thank you for helping me become as good at Slug Fu as you," Eli thanked him as they were warming up.

Junjie smiled. "Then perhaps you should wait a little longer to thank me until you are actually as good as me," he said as he walked towards an empty can on the ground. He picked it up and kicked it. The can landed on top of a rock.

"Oh~ So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Eli blurted out, amused. He took a slug tube with Stunts, his Speedstinger inside of it.

"How about it, Stunts? Want to show them how good we are?" he asked his Speedstinger. Stunts nodded and grinned.

Eli loaded him into his wrist blaster. "I challenge you to a trick competition," Eli told Junjie and they both smirked.

"Think Eli can do it?" Kord asked Pronto.

"None but a Slug Fu Master can beat a Slug Fu Master," Pronto replied.

"I'll take that bet," Kord said before Pronto took a huge chunk of bite from the chicken leg. Pronto laughed, accepting the bet. They wiggled their fingers and then did a fist bump.

"Please, Eli and Junjie are just showing off their Slug Fu style to Pronto and Kord," Ilys blurted out.

"I agree, Ilys," Elke responded.

"Come on, Junjie! Show this scrub how a master fools his slugs!" Pronto cheered for Junjie. I rolled my eyes.

Junjie inserted Stunts into his left wrist blaster. "Three banks off the cliff!" Junjie announced and fired Stunts. He reached velocity and Junjie used Slug Fu on him. Stunts bounced off the cliff three times in different angles. "Off the mushroom!" Stunts held onto a mushroom, using as a slingshot to plunge him towards the can on the rock. "Direct hit!" Stunts hit the rock and the can, causing the can to drop downwards since the rock had been demolished. Pronto cheered in victory.

Trixie, Jie and Jia were not paying attention. They were still on the tablet. Trixie pressed a link and opened a video clip. The video showed some miners were mining yellow glowing crystals when a roar was heard. A stone monster appeared in front of the miners and roared at them. The miners ran away in fear as the monster began to attack them.

Trixie's eyes widened in surprise upon finding this new knowledge. The twins were shocked to see the stone monster as they knew that monster before.

"Off the cliff," Eli announced and shot Stunts. He transformed again and bounced off the cliff once. "Off pointed rock." Stunts ricocheted from a pointed rock. "Back in proto." Stunts turned back into his protoform and entered Pronto's mouth. Pronto's stomach became bloated.

"Any time in the Molenoid. Wait for it," Eli said and winked at Junjie, who looked confused. A second or two later, Pronto let out a burp and Stunts flew out from his mouth. He successfully knocked over the can.

"And nothing but can!" Kord cheered in victory, so did Stunts.

"That is... weird," Ilys remarked at Eli's tactics.

"Not bad, huh?" Eli asked, feeling proud.

"Yeah, yeah. Let us show you our skills, boys," I blurted out. Khai and I stood up.

"We can do better than you two," Khai told them. She slung Noire, her Mega Morphed Speedstinger and she transformed into a pointed armoured silverfish with two small fins on both sides of her head. As Khai did her Slug Fu on her, she commanded her to bounce off the cliff, and then a nearby rock. Noire headed towards Kord and knocked his helmet off. That shocked Kord.

After that, I fired Athena, my Speedstinger. Using Slug Fu, I commanded her to bounce off the off, and then Pronto's stomach, which hurt the Molenoid a little. Ilys giggled at Pronto's reaction. Then, Athena held onto a mushroom, using it as a slingshot. It sent her flying upwards. Once she came down, she hit Pronto's head, knocking his helmet off. Pronto groaned in pain and was shocked to see his helmet was on the ground with Kord's.

Eli was stunned by my tactics while Junjie was impressed. Khai and the others were amazed. "Isn't that amazing, Trixie, Jie and Jia?" Khai called out to them.

"Sorry, weren't looking," Trixie apologized when Khai got her attention.

Trixie stood up and showed us what she had found through her tablet. "Now that the Eastern Data Stream has been restored, there's lots to check out. Like it says the cavern were in right now has a famous legend about a giant rock creature called the Pyritor," she told us as she showed us the map of the Auroris Mines, an article and a picture of the creature.

"Did you ever hear that story, Junjie?" Trixie asked him.

"Once, in my youth. But I was too busy training for real threats to bother with such myth," Junjie answered.

"But we do," Jie said. "Kun Zhen knew about the Pyritor and we believe in it." Jia said.

Suddenly, a roar was heard coming from the mine. Three miners ran out of the mine in fear, which shocked us. "You call that a myth?" Trixie questioned.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

We activated our mecha-beasts quickly and drove into Auroris Cavern, a mining cavern where the Pyritor was threatening the miners. We stopped our vehicles, shocked to see the rock creature. The Pyritor let out a loud roar and the miners, old and young, scrambled in horror.

"Do not worry! Pronto is here!" Pronto announced bravely to the miners, but they ignored him and ran away while screaming. The growl of the Pyritor turned Pronto into a coward.

"Whoa, am I wrong, Trix, uh, does that thing look just like the one in your story?" Kord asked after he took his blaster.

"Giant monster carved out of a rock, yes. It matches the description," Trixie explained as she used her camera to record the beast.

"Haha, the bigger they are," Pronto started his sentence and fired his Mega Morphed Rammstone towards the Pyritor. Unfortunately, the Pyritor punched the Rammstone and it hits Pronto instead. The Molenoid and his slug groaned in pain and fainted, dazzled by the stars.

"Super speed and immense strength – just like the legend says!" Trixie remarked as she continued to record. The Pyritor roared furiously at her.

"Taking down an overgrown statue would be pretty masterful, hint hint," Eli said to Junjie.

"Yes it would," Junjie replied and loaded his left wrist blaster. "Allow me to demonstrate." He walked forward, feeling confident.

"Eli so got this," Kord blurted out.

Pronto came up to him. "Man, then perhaps we should make this interesting," Pronto said after digging his nose and threw the booger behind him, which further disgusted Ilys. "Say, our usual wager?" He wiggled his fingers.

"Yeah, you're on," Kord wiggled his fingers too. They wiggled their fingers at the same time and then did a fist bump.

Junjie slung his Frostcrawler and using his Slug Fu, he commanded it to freeze the Pyritor's legs, turned back into protoform and returned to him. The attack did not work as the Pyritor was able to free himself by smashing the ice with his fists.

"Time to step our game," Eli stated and inserted his Arachnet, Spinner into his wrist blaster. He fired Spinner and he transformed into a giant purple spider. Eli used Slug Fu, making Spinner to create a long web string that coiled the Pyritor's legs repeatedly. After that, Spinner pulled the web string, making the legs to hit each other, which toppled the Pyritor.

"Kord to Pronto!" Kord teased Pronto as he raised two fingers, meaning that he had won the bet twice. "Nice slinging, Eli!" he cheered for the person he put his bet on.

The Pyritor pulled the web string off his feet and looked enraged. "Uh... guys?" Roy was feeling worried as the creature was not yet defeated. Jie and Jia, on the other hand, were wondering why the Pyritor was attacking the miners.

The Pyritor let out a threatening roar at Eli and Junjie. All of the sudden, a Grimmstone hit him square on his face!

"Where did that come from?" Eli questioned. He and Junjie heard a snicker. They turned to their backs and saw Sleade on his chicken mecha beast.

"Oh yeah," Sleade blurted out.

"I remember that weird dude from the tournament," Kord stated.

Sleade casually shot another Grimmstone and hit the Pyritor square in the face. He roared and left, much to our disbelief and shock.

"Weird or not, he did it," Haru muttered.

"You talking about me?" Sleade, who suddenly appeared behind Haru, asked. Haru was startled by it and he turned to face him.

"No? Well, yeah... but..." Haru replied as Sleade scratched his own body.

"Talk later!" Sleade shouted, again, behind Haru, which scared him again. "I got it on the run," he finished his sentence after he dug his ear and showed it to Haru. He moved back and a fly flew past Haru. Fortunately, Haru had his nose pinched, feeling disgusted by Sleade's lack of hygiene.

Sleade rode his mecha to the direction where the Pyritor ran off. The miners returned to the mine as it was now safe. "Well, that was... creepy," Haru commented in a high-pitch voice.

"Oh, don't mind him," an elderly miner told us. "Sleade's a bit... unusual but then you guys sounds exactly what I'd call normal either."

"Why, thank you very much!" Pronto thanked him.

"Seriously, he thinks Molenoids are normal?" Ilys wondered since there were no Molenoids in The Eastern Caverns until she and Pronto came here.

"What were you saying about Sleade?" Falcon asked the elder.

"He's been protecting us. We haven't been able to mine without that monster showing up! The cavern depends on these Auroris Energy Crystals for power," the man explained and showed us the cavern's surroundings, which was filled with Auroris Crystals that were glowing yellow.

"But this Sleade, did he not previously work for the Emperor?" Junjie questioned.

"Look, nobody's perfect and now the Emperor's stuff is water under the bridge. He keeps to himself, comes when we need him, nor wants a crystal or two for service," the elderly man said. "Besides, didn't you used to work for the Emperor?"

That question hurt Junjie's feelings a little, which annoyed Brick and I. "That is also in the past. I am no longer under the Emperor's control. We only wish to help," Junjie explained.

"Thanks, but Sleade's got this cavern covered," the man replied.

"You don't know me," Sleade suddenly appeared out of nowhere, right beside John, Tad, Regina, Wen Wing, and Pronto. They got startled, and Pronto jumped onto Ilys' arms. She got annoyed by it and dropped Pronto, making him land hard on his butt.

"Only good things," the elder miner answered as he walked towards him. "Any luck out there?" He tossed Sleade two Auroris Crystals from his palm. Sleade caught the crystals.

"Nearly had the Pyritor. Fled south to his den at Flowstone Cavern. It's too risky to follow him inside," Sleade informed.

"If you need me again, I'll be close by..." he told Trixie, which frightened her.

"And that... was also creepy," Trixie commented after he rode off with his chicken mecha-beast.

The elder saw Elke and quickly recognized her. "I know you, Cave Troll. You are Elke. You were the one returned the stolen crystals to us," he said.

That caused the other miners' attention. They remembered her ever since she helped many people in The Eastern Caverns. Elke was shocked that they knew her, just like how Hamengku told us that she saved him from the Underlords.

"It seems that they still remember your good deeds, Elke," Roza said and smiled.

"Sleade said the monster lives in Flowstone Cavern. Where is that?" Eli asked the elder.

"No far to the south," the elder answered. "If you all could stop the Pyritor there before it attacks again."

"Say no more, Pronto gives his word that he will employ his many talents to bring this monster down!" Pronto announced proudly. "To the south then!" He started his mecha.

"Pronto! South is the other way?" Nate called out.

"Charge!" Pronto yelled as he accelerated his mecha and went off to the wrong direction.

"I'll get him," Kord sighed.

We began to ride our way to Flowstone Cavern while Trixie was reading some information from her tablet.

"Uh... Junjie, the Pyritor lives in Pyrite Cavern," Jie said.

"And that is north of the mine," Jia added.

"Are you sure?" Xia wondered.

"According to the legend, the Pyritor first made its home in Pyrite Cavern, a thousand years ago," Trixie explained as she read her tablet. "Wait, Pyrite Cavern is north of the mine." She checked the map of the Auroris Mines.

"Yes, that is where he lives," Jie agreed.

"He never moves away from his home. Sleade must be lying. It is a trap!" Jia said.

"That legend is very old and likely only partly true. It could have moved away," Junjie replied.

"Question is: which parts are true?" Trixie asked.

Kord coughed deliberately. "I believe you still owe me for that last bet," he said to Pronto and tossed his stinky boots at him. Elke pulled out a disgusted expression at the sight of Kord's smelly boots.

Pronto sighed. "Molenoids always pay their debts," he said and smelt the boot. He cringed. "Unfortunately," he added. Ilys was laughing at Pronto's reaction.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

We did not notice that Jie and Jia left the team and went north instead. They thought that it was no use trying to convince their brother Junjie as he didn't seem to believe in them. Axel, his girlfriend Assyria, and Ha-Chan spotted them leaving and followed them. Keai, my stuffed panda toy that came alive on my birthday due to magic, sneaked out of my magical backpack and followed them too. She jumped and rode on Jie's mecha.

As they went north, they found Sleade driving towards north too. They followed his tracks. Sleade noticed them and took out a remote. He pressed a button and his chicken mecha laid a metal egg on the path. As Jie, Jia, Axel, Assyria and Ha-Chan were about to pass by, Sleade pressed another button and the egg exploded, releasing an electric wave that disabled all of their mechas. They were flung into the air and crashed onto the ground with their vehicles.

Sleade stopped his vehicle and pressed a button on the remote. He went upwards to a clearing and a giant ball of slime came rolling down from it. Jie fired his Mega Morphed Rammstone and smashed the ball, causing it to become slime that splattered all over the ground.

"What was Sleade doing?" Assyria wondered.

Axel checked the vehicles. "Our mechas are fried. We have to continue on foot," he stated.

"Ow... that hurts..." Keai groaned.

"Keai? What are you doing here?" Jia asked.

"I want to help out!" Keai explained.

"And you sneaked out?" Ha-Chan questioned.

"Uh... yes..." Keai chuckled nervously.

"Let her come with us, but you have to be careful," Assyria said.

"Yay!" Keai cheered as she was carried by Assyria. Keai then played dead, acting like a normal toy.

Meanwhile, we traveled south to Flowstone Cavern. It looked a lot like the Magma Caverns in The 99 Caverns and Volcano Hill Cavern in Marinatopia. We walked on the rocky trail cautiously.

"Ah, you see. This is not so treacherous," Pronto stated as he took the lead.

He took a moment to look at the lava when suddenly, an eruption of lava burst out! Pronto quivered in fear. All of the sudden, the large sharp rocks on top of the cavern began to shake. One of them fell and almost crushed Pronto, but the Molenoid managed to move out of the way on time. Then, another rock fell towards him and Pronto ran back to us, escaping death once more. He kept on screaming in terror until Ilys slapped his mouth shut.

"How about we keep it down so we can keep those things up?" Eli whispered and pointed to the rocks above. We all looked upwards, seeing the rocks shaking.

"Huh, gang?" Kord called out concernedly when he and Elke found a trail of footsteps that had three toes.

"Did you see these?" Elke asked as she pointed to the tracks.

"Looks like we're in the right place," Eli said.

We followed the footprints and heard a roar that sounded like the Pyritor's. "It sounds that way as well," Junjie commented, further confirming the creature to reside in this cavern.

"I guess the legend was wrong!" Trixie exclaimed.

We walked till we reached the cliff, where the footprints ended. "That's the end of the tracks, but no monster," Kord was baffled, so did Elke.

We looked around the cavern but there was no sight of the Pyritor. "It could not be possible that it can survive the lava," I blurted out.

Another roar was heard, causing the cavern to shake and a rock to fall into the lava. "Then where is that noise coming from?" Wen Wing questioned.

Falcon and Tad searched for the noise. At the edge of a rocky path, there was a speaker attached to it. It activated and released the roaring sound. After that, lava splashed onto the path but Falcon and Tad dodged it. "Everybody heads up!" They warned as more sharp rocks fell around the cavern.

"Charmix, go!" Trixie said. A pale blue wing-shaped hairclip appeared on the left side of her head. A pale blue bird-shaped shoulder bag appeared too. She summoned a shield made of high speed winds on top of us, throwing the falling rocks into other directions and protecting us.

"We've been tricked!" Trixie shouted.

Kord noticed Pronto running towards us in a panicked state. "Pronto, watch out!" Kord warned his friend as a huge rock slammed onto the path, breaking it and throwing Pronto into the air. Kord shot his Lariat and it caught Pronto on his head. It shot out a gooey string towards Kord.

"Gotcha!" Kord pulled Pronto up to safety before he fell into the lava.

"Oh, thank you. Pronto thought he was done for," Pronto thanked the Lariat slug and it bowed down proudly.

"We gotta stop them from making the lava rise any higher," Regina told us.

"Then we should... Go! Charmix Mode!" I exclaimed. A silver moon-shaped ring placed on my left hand's middle finger. A silver fuzzy moon-shaped shoulder bag appeared too. The ring gave me telekinesis, which I used it to move the falling rocks properly.

Eli and Junjie nodded. They yelled "Go! Charmix Mode!" Eli obtained an amber star-shaped pendant around his neck and an amber fuzzy star-shaped waist bag. Junjie received a gold sun-shaped ring on his right hand's middle finger and a gold fuzzy sun-shaped waist bag.

Junjie sent out a light beam that shattered two rocks that almost fell. "I've halted two of them," he said confidently.

Eli shot a powerful celestial beam and destroyed a large falling rock. "Three from me, but who's counting?" Eli added and shrugged.

"Who keeps more up there: Eli or Junjie?" Kord asked Pronto.

"Uh... Junjie! Wait, no! Eli! Wait! Junjie!" Pronto finally chose Junjie. He and Kord did once more fist bump to make a bet. Elke and Ilys shook their heads and sighed.

Eli and Junjie continued to compete with each other by preventing the rocks from falling further into the lava. "50 more. You've got some catching up to do~" Eli teased.

Junjie was not giving up. He continued to catch the rocks and Eli did the same. Trixie, Khai and I groaned, feeling annoyed by their behaviour. A giant sharp rock fell and Trixie used her air powers to create a strong blast of wind, turning it horizontal. I used my telekinesis power to lower it safely into the lava, turning it as a bridge. Once the rock fell onto it, the lava rose and burned away the speaker that produced the strong noises, which finally stopped the rocks from falling continuously. Fortunately, the lava also stopped rising too.

"Two hundred twenty-three! But who's counting?" Junjie announced proudly after the competition was over. He smiled at Eli because he won.

"Yes! Haha! Good ol' Junjie, haha! Pronto never doubted you," Pronto stated while Kord looked at him with a defeated look.

"Ah, guys, if you guys are done goofing around, can we go now?!" Trixie and I shouted after the two of us, along with Khai and her team crossed to the other side. The Shane Gang was startled and hurriedly went towards us.

"I knew something wasn't adding up about Sleade saying the monster's lair was to the south," Trixie stated after we sat on our mecha-beasts.

"Jie and Jia said that it lives in the north, and they are right," Tad added.

"Speaking about them, where are they?" Haru questioned.

We looked around but there was no sign of their presence. We also noticed more members were missing.

"Hey, where are Axel, Assyria and Ha-Chan?" John wondered.

I was checking my magical backpack when I found Keai was not inside. "Wait! Where's Keai?" I asked, fearing her safety.

"They must have gone north to catch the Pyritor!" Khai guessed.

"The Pyritor might hurt them! Especially Jie and Jia! We must go now!" Junjie exclaimed in worry.

"Let's head back to the mine first," Eli suggested. "If Sleade set that trap for us, I want to know why."

Pronto coughed to gain Kord's attention. "I believe you have lost our little wager, my Cave Troll companion~" he reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, hand it over," Kord sighed in defeat.

Stinky, Pronto's Flatulorhinkus hopped onto his owner's shoulder and then on Kord's. He farted and the stench made Kord cough.

"I want Stinky clean and scrub, and although, to be honest, that stank of his neck never really comes out," Pronto commanded his friend as he rode off.

Kord looked stunned while holding Stinky upside down. Stinky farted again, making Kord nauseous.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Meanwhile in Pyrite Cavern, Jie, Jia, Axel, Assyria and Ha-Chan were exploring it. Axel was checking information about the Pyritor through his tablet.

"Check it out! There are tons of info about the Pyritor," Axel said. "There's some really old drawings, folk tales and..." He stumbled upon an ancient poem. "An ancient poem?" He began to read it out loud.

 _Deep within the caves of ore,  
_ _there's a monstrous Pyritor._

 _Whom from crystal caves seized the land,  
_ _that his people held in their hand._

 _But the mad Emperor who controls from his tower,  
_ _sees the Pyritor and fears it's power._

 _So he places a curse upon the beast,  
_ _commanding only crystals from this cave he shall eat._

 _And ever since that fateful day,  
_ _in his cave the Pyritor does stay._

"It seems that all of the scattered details have come together to form a poem, even with the mention of the Emperor," Axel stated.

"So our friend has been cursed by the Emperor?" Jie and Jia asked in shock.

"Apparently yes," Assyria answered.

"Poor Pyritor! We need to find him!" Jie said.

"Yeah! And then help him be free from the Emperor!" Jia added.

Unbeknown to them, Sleade crept up towards them from behind. "What are you kids doing here? This cavern is too dangerous for children!" he questioned, which startled Jie, Jia, Axel, Assyria, and Ha-Chan. Keai quickly pretended as a normal toy panda, but she did slightly flinch when Sleade startled her and her friends.

"We want to know the truth! What happened to our friend? He is cursed by the Emperor!" Jie stated.

"And what do you want from him?" Jia added.

"Hmph. Of course the Emperor had cursed him, but since the Emperor is gone, he is regaining his strength and he wants revenge," Sleade answered.

"Revenge? Why? He is a friend to us!" Jie argued.

"Perhaps you didn't know his relationship with the South Guardian. When the people tried to mine these Auroris Crystals, the Pyritor attacked them in order to defend these crystals from falling into the wrong hands as these crystals are energy crystals. The South Guardian came in and made peace with him. The people can mine the crystals but they must do it under good purposes, while the Pyritor would guard the mines and the people in return. However, that was a long time ago. When the Emperor placed a curse on him, he cannot leave his home cavern. The Underlords can then take over the mines and use the crystals for the Emperor. The Pyritor cannot defend the crystals, neither does the South Guardian, who had failed his duty as a Guardian. And now, the Pyritor wants all – he wants everything. The people have betrayed his trust and now he seeks vengeance," Sleade explained.

"Where is the South Guardian?" Jia questioned.

"He is being locked up. I am not going to let him ruin my plan, and so will all of you," he replied.

"No! I don't want to be locked up!" Ha-Chan cried.

"Don't worry, Ha-Chan, we will save our friend! He needs help!" Jia comforted her.

"Yes! We want to help him!" Jie agreed.

"No, you don't!" Sleade blurted out and fired a Negablade towards the twins, Axel, Assyria, and Ha-Chan. They managed to dodge before the Ghouled Negashade could hit them.

"Axel, Assyria! Go get the South Guardian!" Jie told them.

"He is in Neta City in Sindhu Cavern!" Jia added.

"Got it!" Axel replied. He and Assyria ran towards the exit. Sleade saw them and tried to shoot Ghoul Slugs at them. However, his blaster was knocked off by Jie's Mega Morphed Armashelt.

Axel and Assyria found their mecha-beasts and activated them. Once their vehicles were back in good condition, they rode off quickly.

"Where is Sindhu Cavern?" Assyria asked.

Axel speedily checked the map with his tablet. "It is not so far away from the mines. We will be there around 10 minutes," Axel answered.

"Alright, we need to be quick. We don't know how long Jie, Jia and Ha-Chan can hold Sleade off," she stated.

"And how long will our other friends find out their mistake," he added.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Back in Auroris Cavern, we met up with the elderly man we just talked to. "Um, excuse me. Have you seen some of our friends? They are missing," Khai asked him.

"Hmm... I think not. We are busy mining the crystals," the man replied.

All of the sudden, Axel and Assyria, with Keai on Assyria's left shoulder, appeared from the north of the mine.

"Where have you all been?" Eli questioned them but they drove by us in a rush.

"Strange. They are in a hurry?" Zak wondered.

"It must be something important," Trixie guessed.

"Falcon, Nate, Roza, Yamu! Go after Axel, Assyria and Keai! We will go to the north," Eli commanded.

"Right!" Falcon, Nate, Roza and Yamu responded. Roza activated her jet wings and flew towards Axel, Assyria and Keai. Falcon transformed into a bird and flew. Nate and Yamu accelerated their mecha-beasts.

The rest of us drove to the north of the mine, heading to Pyrite Cavern. On our way we saw Jie, Jia, and Ha-Chan's mecha-beasts on the ground. "I think we are pretty close," Ilys stated.

Meanwhile, in the Pyrite Cavern, Jie, Jia and Ha-Chan were dueling against Sleade. The Pyritor was watching the heroes in his cave. Ha-Chan used her magic to tie Sleade up with vines. Though, Sleade managed to free himself by slinging a Thrasher to cut the vines.

Sleade shot his Grimmstone at Jia, and it knocked her hard. "Jia!" Jie shouted her name in worry. Jia landed on the ground, unconscious. The Pyritor saw it and anger grew inside him.

Sleade fired another Grimmstone at Jie while he was distracted. "Jie! Look out!" Ha-Chan yelled in order to warn him.

Suddenly, the Pyritor sped out of the cave he was in and knocked the Ghouled Rammstone away from Jie! Sleade was shocked!

"Nobody hurts my close friends!" the Pyritor told Sleade angrily and attacked him. Sleade speedily dodged every of his blow and fired his Ghouls to weaken the creature.

Meanwhile, Axel, Assyria, Falcon, Nate, Roza and Yamu had arrived in Neta City in Sindhu Cavern. They headed to the palace, where the South Guardian lived. Since it was unguarded, they could sneak in with ease. Once they were inside, they noticed multiple rooms in the palace.

"Oh great! There are so many rooms!" Nate blurted out.

"How are we supposed to know where the South Guardian is?" Yamu asked.

"I can scan his presence," Roza replied. Using her eyes as scanners, she scanned every room they pass. Moments later, she found the South Guardian in his room.

Assyria tried to turn the door knob, but it was locked from the inside. "It's locked. We need to get inside to unlock it," she said.

Keai saw a small hole on the wall beside the door, and she jumped off of Assyria's shoulder and entered the room by crawled through it. She saw the South Guardian chained up. She crawled up to the door and unlocked it. The door swung open for the heroes.

"Great job, Keai!" Falcon praised her.

They went inside. Roza used her chainsaws to slice the chains off of the South Guardian.

"So, you must be the South Guardian, right?" Axel guessed.

"Yes, my name is Durai," the South Guardian introduced.

"Who locked you up here?" Yamu asked.

"Underlord Sleade. He wanted to stop me from reaching the Pyritor, who is terrorizing the mines!" Durai answered.

"Then we must hurry, now!" Nate shouted.

Back at the Pyrite Cavern. Sleade had shot many of his Ghoul Slugs at the Pyritor. The creature was growing weaker as he was losing his energy. The yellow strips on his body glowed dimmer.

"No... I will... turn into... stone..." the Pyritor stammered. "Crystals..." He tried to reach the Auroris Crystals in Sleade's grasp.

"I have them. But you must attack the twins and that strange girl," Sleade told him as he pointed to Jie, Jia and Ha-Chan. "I will not give you crystals if you refuse to do it."

"Wait, the Pyritor needs the crystals?" Ha-Chan asked.

"He needs them for energy," Jie answered.

"Hmm... I see now~" Ha-Chan created a vine and with it, she managed to snatch the crystals from Sleade.

"Hey! What the-" Sleade spat out in shock.

The crystals landed in front of the Pyritor. The Pyritor picked them up one by one and ate them. The strips on his body glowed bright again. He let out a roar that was filled with energy. He was now recharged. "Much better~" he muttered and pulled an evil smile at Sleade.

That was when we came in and witnessed the scene. It was pretty shocking to us. Though, Junjie, as an overprotective brother, was more shocked to see his younger twin sister Jia unconscious. He rushed to her side and picked her up to check if she was okay.

"Jia... Jia..." he softly called her name.

Jia woke up slowly. "Br... Brother?" she blurted out, feeling surprised.

"Are you okay, sister?" he asked her concernedly.

"Yes, I am fine," she assured him.

We aimed our blasters at the Pyritor and Sleade. "So... who should we shoot at?" Kord wondered.

"Guys! Don't hurt the Pyritor!" Jie told us.

"Uh... why?" Eli asked, feeling confused, and so did we.

"He is my friend, and Jia too!" Jie explained.

We were shocked to hear that the Pyritor was a friend of the twins. Though, we decided to listen to Jie and fire our slugs at Sleade. Sleade dodged our slugs and found himself outnumbered, so he tried to escape. He ran to his chicken mecha-beast and tried to start it up. All of the sudden, he met a huge punch in the face and he blacked out.

It turned out that Elke had punched him. Ilys took out her Magical Scepter and turned Sleade tiny. She locked him in a jar with the lid having holes. Kord and Pronto stopped running halfway towards Sleade when they saw the girls finished him.

"Having a bet whether one of you will stop him?" Elke guessed.

"Well, leave that to us~" Ilys stated proudly.

Adding to Sleade's punishment, Iris, Khai's Flatulorhinkus, jumped into the jar and released her stinky gas, making him extremely uncomfortable.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

We headed to the Pyritor, feeling amazed by its presence. "Is it true? That you are real?" Trixie asked the creature.

"Oh yes, lady, I _am_ real, alright," he responded.

"But if you are real, why my ancestor Yang never encountered you before?" Junjie wondered.

"But Yan did," Jie blurted out.

"Yes, Yan did encounter me before, and he befriended with me," the Pyritor confirmed it.

"But then... why Yang never knew about it?" Junjie was confused.

"Because Yan never told his brother before. He thought he would never believe in him," Jie explained.

"But he did tell Yin because she kept secrets as she was his twin sister," Jia added.

"Upon finding out Yan and Yin's relationship with the Pyritor, I went to see him if he was real – and he is! I gained his trust and told Jia about it," he stated.

"I promised to keep it a secret because our brother Junjie would not believe in us," she said.

"And that was before the Emperor took over our home," he added.

"Wait, so your ancestors met the Pyritor before my ancestor?" a voice blurted out. It turned out to be Durai, the South Guardian. Axel, Assyria, Falcon, Nate, Roza and Yamu had returned with him. Keai was on Assyria's shoulder, waving in joy.

"Keai!" I exclaimed and got Keai into my embrace. "You made me worried sick."

"But I want to help, and I did!" Keai pleaded.

"Yes, she did. She freed the South Guardian Durai," Nate said.

The Pyritor noticed Durai coming towards him. "Please forgive me, Pyritor. I have failed to protect the mines from being taken over by the Underlords," Durai begged for forgiveness.

"Wait, you know about the Pyritor too?" Junjie was even more confused.

"Yes, because of my ancestor," Durai explained. "A thousand years ago, my ancestor led his people to a barren land where they accidentally discovered the Auroris Crystals. They also found out that the crystals can produce energy. Hence, the people decided to mine them. The Pyritor, the guardian of the crystals, showed up and attacked the people. My ancestor came in and talked to him. He made a promise that he and his people, and everyone in The Eastern Caverns, would use the crystals for good purposes. In return, the Pyritor would give the miners and the caverns protection."

"Then... why you didn't tell me, Durai?" Junjie asked.

"Each protector keeps their own secrets. You don't need to know these things," he replied.

"Well, that is a disadvantage because it divides people. Once an evil force stronger than us comes to attack, we will all be doomed, just like what the Emperor did to us," I argued.

"So, let me get this straight. Yan and Yin befriended with the Pyritor two thousand years ago, and a thousand years later your ancestor made peace with him?" Axel asked Durai. The South Guardian nodded. "Then how can you explain this poem?" Axel showed him the ancient poem he had found on his tablet.

"What's this?" Durai read and recited the poem.

"See, our friend was cursed by the Emperor!" Jie and Jia exclaimed.

"Whom from crystal caves seized the land, that his people held in their hand? I am confused. My ancestor and the Pyritor had made peace with each other. We both shared the land, and so do everybody," Durai was baffled. "And most of all: monstrous? That is just rude!"

"Then why is the Pyritor attacking the miners?" Dana questioned.

"Because it is my fault! I have failed to stop the Underlords from taking over the crystal mines. The Pyritor feels betrayed and wants revenge!" Durai explained.

"No, it is my fault, Durai," Junjie corrected. "I have failed to stop the Emperor from taking over The Eastern Caverns."

"It is not your fault, Junjie. It is the Goon's fault," Trixie comforted him. This made Obert, who was formerly known as The Goon Doc and now return back to a normal Guardian Boon Doc, blame himself for controlling Junjie. "No, offence." She quickly apologized Obert and he chirped as a replied as he accepted her apologize.

"No, it is the Emperor's fault," I corrected Trixie.

"Yeah, that devil creeps me out," Brick agreed.

"Plus, the Emperor wouldn't have known about the Pyritor 2000 years ago as he was immediately defeated by Yang once he found out Peach Blossom Spring Cavern," I explained. "Perhaps when he came back 20 years ago, he found the Auroris Crystals and wanted to mine them, but the Pyritor was a threat to him. So he placed a curse on him, so that way he could command the Underlords to do so without facing the Pyritor's wrath."

"So... what do you mean, Wen Jing?" Assyria wondered.

"I mean that the poem is written by someone who is a follower of the Emperor in order to manipulate the people to support the Emperor. He or she made it look ancient to make people believe in it, adding the fact that the Pyritor could not come out due to the curse," I said.

"Wow, how do you... know that?" Junjie was stunned.

"Well, the Emperor did shut down the Eastern Net for 20 years, according to Zhong Fen and Kun Zhen," I stated. "He hates media, education and religion. It is all about him."

"Kun Zhen? I think I have heard about her," the Pyritor suddenly said.

"You do? She is my friend," I told him.

"How do you know about her?" I wondered.

"Well, she can control crystals. I can sense her," he said.

Junjie turned to Durai. "I am sorry for my failure in defending The Eastern Caverns. Please do forgive me," he apologized.

"It is okay. Some things that need to happen must happen. You cannot prevent it," Durai replied.

"At least I am feeling the curse is lifting. The Emperor is gone now," the Pyritor said.

"And we should unite to bring The Eastern Caverns back to its glory, and be prepared for any threat, because I have a feeling that the Emperor would come back," I added.

"Durai, can you and the Pyritor help us to defend The Eastern Caverns from the Emperor?" Jie and Jia asked.

"Yes, we will help, but you have to take a challenge," Durai responded.

"What kind of challenge?" Eli wondered.

"To fight the Pyritor!" he announced.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

We were shocked by his decision. "Wait, all of us must fight the Pyritor?" Khai questioned.

"No, not all of you. Only those who saved me and gained trust of the Pyritor," he explained. "So... Jie, Jia, Axel, Assyria and Ha-Chan are chosen for the challenge."

"WHAT?!" we blurted out.

We were unsure about it. "Are you sure about this, Durai? I don't want Jie and Jia to be injured!" Junjie said as he was overprotective towards his siblings.

"And I don't want my flower to take the challenge!" Tad felt the same towards Ha-Chan, his girlfriend.

"If they pass the challenge, the Pyritor and I will help all of you to fight the Emperor," Durai stated.

"But is the challenge necessary?!" Pronto complained.

"Yes, we need to earn their trust," I said.

"And we need them," Khai added.

"Don't worry, guys. We can do this," Axel felt confident. "Go! Charmix Mode!" he yelled. A purple A-shaped pendant appeared around his neck. A purple fuzzy A-shaped waist bag also appeared around his waist. He quickly created diamond bullets from his hands. He loaded them into his blasters called Axl Firearm ABS. He shot them towards the Pyritor. The creature was able to dodge all of them with ease due to his super speed.

"Ugh! He's fast!" Axel complained.

"Don't worry, Axel. I will help you," Assyria said. "Go! Charmix Mode!" she shouted. Two aqua blue seashell-shaped earrings and an aqua blue fuzzy seashell-shaped shoulder bag appeared. She created water spheres and threw them to the Pyritor. Though, the creature was still fast enough to dodge.

As the Pyritor used his super speed to dodge their attacks, Jie thought of a way to slow him down since he knew that the Pyritor was fast. "Ha-Chan, transform into your Enchantix Fairy form! I have an idea to slow him down!" he told her.

"Okay!" Ha-Chan replied and changed into her Enchantix Fairy form. She summoned huge vines as they grew out from the ground. She could do that because she was the Fairy of Life and was connected to nature.

The huge vines managed to entangle and stop the Pyritor. Ha-Chan made the vines to throw him against a wall, which she did. Her action shocked us as we did not know that Ha-Chan's powers were powerful enough to handle the rock creature. Durai, on the other hand, is shock to see Ha-Chan's fairy form.

"Everyone, gather now!" Jie called his teammates. Axel, Assyria, Ha-Chan and Jia gathered with Jie to form a circle and hold hands. They focused their powers and magic to perform a convergence spell. The new spell was a combination of Jie and Jia' yin-yang powers, Ha-Chan's life power, Axel's gemstone power and Assyria's water power.

"Convergence by the power of crystallize of all eternity! Crystallize Storm Overload!" they chanted a new spell. Before the Pyritor could reach them, a massive multiple crystals-like storm was created from the heroes. The new attack really damaged the Pyritor, causing him to nearly lose all of his energy.

"Alright, you all have passed the test!" Durai announced and fed the Pyritor a few Auroris Crystals for recharge. "We will help you all now."

"Yeah! Alright!" they cheered.

"I think we should tell the miners about the truth," Khai suggested.

"Yeah, after all the misunderstanding," Xia agreed.

"So, let's go!" Eli cheered.

Before we left, the Pyritor noticed Jie had a white hair streak on his hair. "Excuse me, Jie, why is there a white hair streak on your hair?" he questioned.

"Oh, I was born with it," Jie replied and tried to cover it.

"That is strange. You never have a white hair streak before when I met you," the Pyritor blurted out.

"Oh, really?" Jie was confused.

"Jie! We are going now!" Jia suddenly called out.

"Oh, okay! Goodbye, Pyritor!" Jie waved to his friend.

"Goodbye," Jia did the same too before Jie joined her. Their abrupt leave Durai and the Pyritor confused.

We returned to Auroris Cavern with our mechas. Durai later joined us to announce the truth to the miners. The miners were happy that we had settled the problem.

"Woah, thanks to you lot, we can now mine the Auroris Crystals safely and without interruption!" the elder miner thanked us.

"The creature is the guardian of the crystals. The Emperor's curse and his Underlords' evil intentions had angered him for so long that he wanted revenge," Durai explained.

"But with the help of Jie and Jia, he realized his mistake and Sleade was captured for manipulating the creature," I added.

"He is one of our allies now," Eli stated. The twins smiled.

"You know, it wasn't one of us who took Sleade down," Kord reminded his friend Pronto.

"Then how do we settle our wager?" Pronto asked. "A Molenoid always settles his debts."

Elke and Ilys whistled to get their attention. "We have some ideas~" they smirked.

"Wash our mechas clean and shiny. And remember, no stains!" Elke told them.

"Not a single stain to be seen!" Ilys added.

Kord and Pronto sighed in defeat as we left the mine.

"I have to say, you two are absolutely ridiculous in doing those challenges," Khai told Eli and Junjie.

"You two are acting like dorks?" I laughed. The other girls joined in.

Eli and Junjie looked ashamed. "Sorry. Just... got a little carried away..." Eli chuckled in embarrassment.

"Well... we are acting... less professional," Junjie admitted.

"But you are cute being a dork~" I remarked and giggled while blushing.

"Really, huh~" Junjie asked playfully as he got closer to me.

"Sure~" I replied. We both burst out with giggles.


End file.
